World Tour Stop – Midway, Utah – Errant Golf Ball Comes to Rest Under My Chair
Written by: Tony Korologos | Friday, August 30th, 2013
Categories: Boneheads • Hackers • HOG World Tour • Miscellaneous
Categories: Boneheads • Hackers • HOG World Tour • Miscellaneous
Greetings from Midway, Utah. Midway is a small town about 25 minutes east of Park City. I’m here to review The Homestead resort and their golf course Crater Springs (formerly called The Homestead).
I have a painfully slow internet connection so I can’t post much in the way of photos until I return home. But this one below is worth mentioning. While sitting on the 2nd floor deck of our cottage with the lovely wife and baby Seve, a golf ball hit the trees above. It fell onto the stairs then hit the wall behind me, coming to rest under my chair. We’re not all that close to the fairway and the deck is on the opposite side from the tee of the par-4 10th. This is a seriously errant shot!
How odd that the guy’s Top Flite came to rest under my chair. I’m thankful the ball didn’t hit baby Seve.
Golf Games: Rabbit
Yesterday’s league nine was triumphant. I won TWO rabbits and a nice little pile of cash. That made me want to share the “Rabbit” game with you loyal HOG patrons. The rabbit game is quite fun. Here’s how it works.
The Goal
The goal of the golf rabbit game is to “capture” the rabbit, and $2 from every player in the group participating in the game. Any number of players can compete, even players in multiple groups. A player can capture the rabbit in one of two ways, by either acquiring four rabbit legs in nine holes or being in possession of any legs at the end of nine. To capture a leg of the rabbit, a player must make a skin. Once the player has a leg, he keeps the leg unless a player gets a skin on a following hole. Then the rabbit leg is knocked loose. Let’s take a look at my two rabbits from yesterday and how they were won.
I made birdie on the 3rd hole, which was a skin and subsequently I captured a rabbit leg. I was the only person in my group to make par on the 4th hole. That par skin gave me a 2nd rabbit leg. On the 5th hole, I made birdie for my 3rd skin in a row. That earned me my 3rd rabbit leg. At that point I had three legs with four holes to go. I made par on the 6th hole and nobody made birdie so no legs were knocked loose from my three. Therefore on the 7th tee I was dormy, having three legs with three holes to go. I made par on the 7th hole and no birdies were made in my group on that hole. At that point I won a rabbit because I had three legs with two holes to go. I “closed out” the rabbit.
When the rabbit is closed out before the nine is complete, a new rabbit is started. I made a triple on the 8th hole and a few players made par. No birdies. So the 8th hole was tied with no skins. No rabbit legs awarded. On the 9th hole, a par-3, I hit one to about 12 feet. I made the birdie putt for a skin and yes, a rabbit leg. Since I had one leg at the conclusion of the 9th, I won yet another rabbit! Piles o’ cash!
That was the end of our rabbit game as the group was only playing nine holes.
Bonus
If the group is playing 18 holes, a new rabbit is started on the 10th and the game proceeds as described above. If a player wins a rabbit on the front nine AND the back nine, a bonus is paid. In the case of our group, the rabbit bonus is $1.00 bringing the total for a player who wins the front and back rabbit to $5.00 from each player.
Imagine a group of 20 players competing in the rabbit game. A player who wins a rabbit on the front and back would win nearly $100 with the bonus.
First Look: Voice Caddie Talking Golf GPS
Written by: Tony Korologos | Tuesday, August 27th, 2013
Categories: Golf Accessories • Golf Gear • Site News
Categories: Golf Accessories • Golf Gear • Site News
I’m currently reviewing the Voice Caddie VC200, a golf GPS which speaks your yardages to you. The unit mounts to your hat, shirt, belt, bag or you can just keep it in your pocket. The unit will even track shot distances. Stay tuned for my review coming soon. Until then, enjoy the photo below and check out the feature list.
Voice Caddie – click to zoom
Here’s a feature list:
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• Audio Distance Information by Voice, from the ball point to the center of the green
• Automatic course and hole recognition
• Unique swing tempo function for better swing rhythm (Golf Metronome system)
• Shot distance measurement
• Lightest and smallest among GPS Rangefinders
• Choice of 9 different spoken languages (English, Spanish, German, Italian, French, Japanese,
Chinese, Korean, Swedish) • 30,000 courses preloaded & 40,000 + courses available worldwide
• Clipping it onto a visor or belt (Hands free operation)
• Volume control
• Rechargeable battery provides 9 hours of continuous use
• Sleek, ultra-light golf GPS: 0.8 oz(24g), ultra-small: 38x47x12.5mm
• No downloading fees, no annual fees
• No hidden cost
• It comes in two colors, black and white
• Package includes: USB cable, Quick manual, Ball marker and USB charger
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Fantasy Golf – The Barclays Winner
Written by: Tony Korologos | Tuesday, August 27th, 2013
Categories: Fantasy Golf • Miscellaneous • Site News
Categories: Fantasy Golf • Miscellaneous • Site News
The Barclays Winner: Chippin Falls
2013 Fantasy Golf is brought to you by Hooked On Golf Blog and The Golf Space.
SPONSORS/PRIZES
- Nike Golf – Nike Covert Driver
- FootJoy – Shoes/Apparel
- Bridgestone Golf – Bridgestone Golf Balls
- Tornado Tee – Very cool golf tees (weekly)
Weekly prizes now ready. Coupon codes for the Tornado Tee website granting winners a free set of Tornado Tees will be awarded to the winners. Contact me for details.
It is never too late to join HOG Space fantasy golf FREE. Follow the easy instructions below:
1. Go to www.buzzfantasyleagues.com
2. Create an account if you don’t have one
3. Click on “Join an Existing League”
4. Enter League ID 233, and Season ID 335
5. Create your team, enter league password “HOG”
- Nike Covert Driver Grand Prize
Sponsors Wanted
If you wish to sponsor 2013 Fantasy Golf, let me know. Sponsorship would mean providing prizes in exchange for weekly air time, banners and links to your web site via the fantasy golf updates.
Discussion
HOG Space fantasy golf is a dual effort between Hooked On Golf Blog and The Golf Space. Official fantasy golf forum discussion thread is in The Golf Space Forum here.
Golf Equipment Review: Srixon Z-Star XV Golf Ball
Written by: Tony Korologos | Monday, August 26th, 2013
Categories: Golf Balls • Golf Equipment • Golf Gear • Reviews
Categories: Golf Balls • Golf Equipment • Golf Gear • Reviews
Srixon has two new versions of the Z-Star out on the market for 2013. The first is the Z-Star, which I reviewed last week. The 2nd is the Z-Star XV, a model built for players with higher swing speeds. I’d tried a previous model Z-Star XV but it was too hard for my slower swing speed. I gave the 2013 model a shot, pun intended, and could certainly tell a difference. I could play the ball given optimal conditions. Let’s take a look at the 2013 Z-Star XV.
Srixon Z-Star XV
Z-Star XV Overview
The Z-Star XV is a “tour” level golf ball. This means the performance is best for professional golfers or amateur golfers who demand high spin in the short game and short irons.
Construction
The Srixon Z-Star XV is a four layer ball: two cores, a mid layer and the cover. The XV is high compression ball designed for players with a higher than average swing speeds.
Inside the center of the ball, the dual core produces the power of the ball via Srixon’s “Neo Energetic Gradient Growth” technology. Yeah, that’s what I was going to say. The technology varies the core density, producing high ball velocity and high launch angle. In other words, distance.
The mid-layer of the ball serves to reduce excess spin off the driver. If the spin is too high, the ball will lose distance as well as accuracy. More simply, straight and long.
The 344 dimple outer cover is a soft and very thin cover which helps produce great amounts of spin in shorter clubs. Srixon’s “spin skin” technology helps increase friction between club and ball by 20%, thus helping the player impart more spin in the short game. In other words, control.
Colors
The XV comes in two colors: pure white and tour yellow. I tested the pure white model.
On The Course
My first experience with the XV model from a couple of years ago was that the ball was too hard for my game and swing speed. I didn’t’ find that I was benefitting from the higher compression and thus not getting the distance.
With the new XV I sense some differences in feel and playability for me. In optimal conditions I’m able to play the ball with great results in driver distance. One particular case came on the difficult 468 yard par-4 2nd hole at my home course. Typically my drives end up just inside the 200 yard marker, or roughly 275 yards from the tee. On a nice warm summer day when I was swinging well, I found myself considerably closer to the green at 165 yards. That’s a 30 yard gain. Note however, that those conditions are optimal. By optimal I mean that the temperature was warm, my back was loose and I was swinging very well. I did find that as I got tired (thus my swing speed decreased), the temps dropped or my back tightened up, I didn’t benefit from the ball’s high compression. That makes sense because my top swing speed is probably right around 105. In those optimal conditions when I was fully benefitting I was swinging 105+ and in the not-so optimal conditions I was sub 105 and probably even sub 100.
Having just reviewed the Z-Star, I have a good reference point to compare the XV with. I did find for me that I got a touch more spin with the Z-Star versus the XV. And that makes sense, since the XV does rank a bit lower on spin than the regular flavor. That being said, the regular Z-Star has a great amount of spin on short game shots. The XV has plenty.
On the durability end of things, both balls in the Z-Star series are extremely durable. The only visible damage I’ve seen on either model in the 100+ holes I’ve played with them was from a cart path.
Conclusion
The Srixon Z-Star XV is a great golf ball no doubt. If your swing speed is up high enough, I strongly recommend it. You’ll see massive distance and yet have brilliant short game control. If your swing speed isn’t above 105, go with the regular Z-Star.
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